Delaware Becomes 11th State To Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

Just days after Rhode Island took the same steps, Delaware has become the 11th state, and the second Mid-Atlantic state, to legalize same-sex marriage:

The gay marriage bill has passed the Senate this afternoon with a vote of 12-9.

The bill, which already passed the House on April 23, was signed by Gov. Jack Markell shortly after as legislators and gay rights activists crowded around the governor on the steps of Legislative Hall.

Delaware will become the 11th state in the country to legalize same-sex marriage when the law goes into effect July 1.

U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said in a statement this afternoon that the bill “ushers in a new era of equality in our state.”

his is a truly historic day for our state,” Coons said. “Today’s vote was about dignity, respect, and basic human fairness for our neighbors. Every Delawarean deserves access to the full rights and responsibilities of marriage, no matter their sexual orientation. The passage of HB 75 ushers in a new era of equality in our state and marks an important moment in our state’s history. I am incredibly proud.”

“I think this is the right thing for Delaware,” Markell said after the vote, while posing for pictures with supporters outside his legislative office. “It took an incredible team effort.”

Gay rights activists and their supporters in the chamber erupted in cheers and applause following the Senate vote.

Delaware’s same-sex marriage bill was introduced in the Democrat-controlled legislature last month, barely a year after the state began recognizing same-sex civil unions. The bill won passage two weeks ago in the state House on a 23-18 vote.

About Doug MataconisDoug holds a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May, 2010 and also writes at Below The Beltway.
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Swing-vote senators Bethany Hall-Long, D-Middletown, and Catherine Cloutier, R-Brandywine Hundred voted in favor of the legislation. Cloutier was the lone Republican yes vote in the Senate and one of two in the whole General Assembly. Two Senate Democrats, Robert Venables of Laurel and Bruce Ennis of Smyrna, voted no.

The bill passed 23-18 in the lower house, 12-9 in the upper. By my count, the yes vote in the House was:

And the bill was introduced and signed into law by a Democratic Governor.
The rule is clear. Where the Democrats control the state government, gay civil rights and gay marriage become law: Where the Republicans are in charge, there are no gay civil rights and no gay marriage.(Rhode Island is something of an exception).

Why won’t we see that kind of “good work” in Virginia? Because the Republican governor is anti-gay rights; the Republican attorney-general is anti-gay rights; and the Republican majority in the legislature is anti-gay rights.

The lesson to be drawn is also clear: if you are serious about upholding gay rights and gay marriage, don’t wring your hands about the Republicans being ” behind the times” on gay rights. Instead, vote for Democrats. The true friend of gays is the one who votes for gay rights: not the one who just celebrates the advance of gay rights(while voting for those who oppose it).

@stonetools: “Where the Republicans are in charge, there are no gay civil rights and no gay marriage.(Rhode Island is something of an exception).”

Republicans are not in charge in Rhode Island. Both houses of the state legislature are in Democratic hands while the Governor is an independent who fled the Republican party after it was no longer redeemable (some people *ahem* might have something to learn from Mr. Chafee). While all Republican State Senators voted for the same sex-marriage bill I don’t think it was the same situation in the lower house; there were fifteen votes against the bill, and seeing that there are only 6 Republicans in the Rhode Island House of Representatives, I’m guessing that they all voted against it and were joined by some right wing Democrats.

@Sejanus: Stonetools point re: Rhode Island is that the marriage equality bill in Rhode Island has been blocked for multiple sessions at the Senate level by a group of socially conservative Democrats. It wasn’t until the Senate Republicans as a group switched from “against” to “for” that the bill was able to proceed.

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